The Biggest Loser’s Get-Slim Lesson of the Week: You can lose the weight–but no one else can do it for you

"You always have a story in your head about why you can't do it. Trust me, you can." - Jillian

"The Biggest Loser" sure loves its twists. Just as the contestants are getting comfortable on their new teams, they're thrown yet another curveball: This week, only one person's weight loss would count for their entire team--and each team gets to choose the opposing team's representative.

Of course, no one was anxious to be tapped: one bad week could spell disaster for their teammates. At the same time, Jillian worried that some members on her black team were coasting–including Frado, who always puts up big numbers and knew the blue team wouldn’t choose him to take the scale. So when Frado threw a hissy fit after falling off the treadmill and blamed Jillian for working him too hard, Jillian turned the tables, calling him the team’s “master manipulator” and telling him he could “bitch and moan” all he wanted about her, but in the end, he had to take responsibility for his own actions.

Elizabeth, another member of the black team, also got some tough love from Jillian. Her weight loss was historically slow, making her the blue team’s obvious choice for the weigh in, yet she wasn’t working hard enough at the gym to put up a big number. During an emotional confrontation by Jillian, Elizabeth blamed her abusive husband for her weight gain and admitted she depended too much on her brothers–and now on her Biggest Loser teammates–to look out for her. No longer. Jillian explained that Elizabeth’s actions, not her husband’s, led to her weight gain–and she was the only one who turn things around.

In the end, the blue team did choose Elizabeth to weigh in, and the black team picked Jessica to represent the blue team. The extra attention Elizabeth got from Jillian paid off: she lost 5 pounds–1 more than Jessica. Because the blue team lost, they had to vote off one of their own members; the vote was a tie between Adam and Jessica, so the black team made the final decision–and booted Adam, who had lost 58 pounds on the show and posed the biggest threat.

The week’s big lesson: If you want to shed pounds, you have to hold yourself accountable. Most of us don’t have a Jillian or a Bob to make sure we’re not slacking, so it’s up to us to stick with the program. Keep a journal to track your eating and exercise habits: You’re less likely to scarf down a bag of chips or choose the couch over Spin class if you have to confess as much on paper. And while you’re ultimately responsible for your own success, it’s OK to get a little help from your friends. Form your own exercise “team” and push each other to do better. As Jillian would say, you can do it!